• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.79 no.5
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• pp.276-281
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• 2018

Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related lung disease has been actively studied over the past few years. Radiologic findings of IgG4-related lung disease vary among patients, but there are no long-term follow up studies regarding variations in imaging features over the course of disease progression. In two cases with relatively long-term follow up, diverse early and late computed tomography (CT) findings of IgG4-related lung disease are reviewed in this report. In contrast to nodular or diffuse ground-glass opacity, which was predominantly noted in CT scans at earlier stages of disease, honeycombing and traction bronchiectasis were regarded as late radiologic manifestations. Solid nodules might be visible in both early and late stages; however, development of new solid nodules and enlargement of preexisting nodules could occur during disease progression. Interlobular septal thickening and mediastinal/hilar lymphadenopathy were persistent, even in later stages of the disease. These findings might be useful in making an accurate and timely diagnosis of IgG4-related lung disease.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.503-509
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• 2020

This study aims to develop a patient-specific radiation exposure dose prediction model based on anthropometric data that can be easily measurable during CT examination, and to be used as basic data for DRL setting and radiation dose management system in the future. In addition, among the machine learning algorithms, the most suitable model for predicting exposure doses is presented. The data used in this study were chest CT scan data, and a data set was constructed based on the data including the patient's anthropometric data. In the pre-processing and sample selection of the data, out of the total number of samples of 250 samples, only chest CT scans were performed without using a contrast agent, and 110 samples including height and weight variables were extracted. Of the 110 samples extracted, 66% was used as a training set, and the remaining 44% were used as a test set for verification. The exposure dose was predicted through random forest, linear regression analysis, and SVM algorithm using Orange version 3.26.0, an open software as a machine learning algorithm. Results Algorithm model prediction accuracy was R^2 0.840 for random forest, R^2 0.969 for linear regression analysis, and R^2 0.189 for SVM. As a result of verifying the prediction rate of the algorithm model, the random forest is the highest with R^2 0.986 of the random forest, R^2 0.973 of the linear regression analysis, and R^2 of 0.204 of the SVM, indicating that the model has the best predictive power.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.487-493
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• 2021

Background: Predicting postoperative lung function after pneumonectomy is essential. We retrospectively compared postoperative lung function to predicted postoperative lung function based on computed tomography (CT) volumetry and perfusion scintigraphy in patients who underwent pneumonectomy. Methods: Predicted postoperative lung function was calculated based on perfusion scintigraphy and CT volumetry. The predicted function was compared to the postoperative lung function in terms of forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), using 4 parameters: FVC, FVC%, FEV₁, and FEV₁%. Results: The correlations between postoperative function and predicted function based on CT volumetry were r=0.632 (p=0.003) for FVC% and r=0.728 (p<0.001) for FEV₁%. The correlations between postoperative function and predicted postoperative function based on perfusion scintigraphy were r=0.654 (p=0.002) for FVC% and r=0.758 (p<0.001) for FEV₁%. The preoperative Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scores were significantly higher in the group in which the gap between postoperative FEV₁ and predicted postoperative FEV₁ analyzed by CT was smaller than the gap analyzed by perfusion scintigraphy (1.2±0.62 vs. 0.4±0.52, p=0.006). Conclusion: This study affirms that CT volumetry can replace perfusion scintigraphy for preoperative evaluation of patients needing pneumonectomy. In particular, it was found to be a better predictor of postoperative lung function for poor-performance patients (i.e., those with high ECOG scores).

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.92-98
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• 2021

Purpose: This study automatically discriminates homogeneous and structure edge regions on computed tomography (CT) images, and it evaluates the noise level and edge preservation ratio (EPR) according to the different types of iterative reconstruction (IR). Methods: The dataset consisted of CT scans of 10 patients reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP), statistical IR (iDose⁴), and iterative model-based reconstruction (IMR). Using the 10th and 85th percentiles of the structure coherence feature, homogeneous and structure edge regions were localized. The noise level was estimated using the averages of the standard deviations for five regions of interests (ROIs), and the EPR was calculated as the ratio of standard deviations between homogeneous and structural edge regions on subtraction CT between the FBP and IR. Results: The noise levels were 20.86±1.77 Hounsfield unit (HU), 13.50±1.14 HU, and 7.70±0.46 HU for FBP, iDose⁴, and IMR, respectively, which indicates that iDose⁴ and IMR could achieve noise reductions of approximately 35.17% and 62.97%, respectively. The EPR had values of 1.14±0.48 and 1.22±0.51 for iDose⁴ and IMR, respectively. Conclusions: The iDose⁴ and IMR algorithms can effectively reduce noise levels while maintaining the anatomical structure. This study suggested automated evaluation measurements of noise levels and EPRs, which are important aspects in CT image quality with patients' cases of FBP, iDose⁴, and IMR. We expect that the inclusion of other important image quality indices with a greater number of patients' cases will enable the establishment of integrated platforms for monitoring both CT image quality and radiation dose.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.84 no.4
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• pp.900-910
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• 2023

Purpose To assess normal CT scans with quantitative CT (QCT) analysis based on smoking habits and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Materials and Methods From January 2013 to December 2014, 90 male patients with normal chest CT and quantification analysis results were enrolled in our study [non-COPD never-smokers (n = 38) and smokers (n = 45), COPD smokers (n = 7)]. In addition, an age-matched cohort study was performed for seven smokers with COPD. The square root of the wall area of a hypothetical bronchus of internal perimeter 10 mm (Pi10), skewness, kurtosis, mean lung attenuation (MLA), and percentage of low attenuation area (%LAA) were evaluated. Results Among patients without COPD, the Pi10 of smokers (4.176 ± 0.282) was about 0.1 mm thicker than that of never-smokers (4.070 ± 0.191, p = 0.047), and skewness and kurtosis of smokers (2.628 ± 0.484 and 6.448 ± 3.427) were lower than never-smokers (2.884 ± 0.624, p = 0.038 and 8.594 ± 4.944, p = 0.02). The Pi10 of COPD smokers (4.429 ± 0.435, n = 7) was about 0.4 mm thicker than never-smokers without COPD (3.996 ± 0.115, n = 14, p = 0.005). There were no significant differences in MLA and %LAA between groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion Even on normal CT scans, QCT showed that the airway walls of smokers are thicker than never-smokers regardless of COPD and it preceded lung parenchymal changes.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2018

The purpose of the present study was to explore the radiological and acoustic characteristics of "Arae-a" (/${\cdot}$/) articulation in two male Jeju language speakers, focusing on selected measures in radiological images derived from computed tomography scans, as well as the first and the second formant measures in selected vowels. An elderly male speaker (a 78-year-old) and a young male speaker (a 34-year-old) participated in the study. During the production of four selected vowels, the shape of the vocal tract was identified, and selected measures were obtained from the elderly participant's computed tomography (CT) scans. For acoustic analysis, the participants were given a list of near-minimal pairs consisting of 112 words and asked to read them aloud. The results indicated that the "Arae-a" (/${\cdot}$/) articulation of the elderly speaker showed unique acoustic and radiological characteristics compared to other similar vowels, thus presenting substantial consistency with the descriptions of the "Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon." In contrast, the F1 and F2 measures of the young male's /${\cdot}$/ articulation were not distinguished from those of /ㅗ/. Current results, in part, support the scientific principles underlying the invention of "Arae-a," which reflects the shape of the vocal tract during production, and the necessity for further research.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.199-205
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• 2011

Purpose: The present study compared the difference between intraoperative transrectal ultrasound (iTRUS)-based prostate volume and preplan computed tomography (CT), preplan magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based prostate volume to estimate the number of seeds needed for appropriate dose coverage in permanent brachytherapy for prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: Between March 2007 and March 2011, among 112 patients who underwent permanent brachytherapy with $^{125}I$, 60 image scans of 56 patients who underwent preplan CT (pCT) or preplan MRI (pMRI) within 2 months before brachytherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-four cases among 30 cases with pCT and 26 cases among 30 cases with pMRI received neoadjuvant hormone therapy (NHT). In 34 cases, NHT started after acquisition of preplan image. The median duration of NHT after preplan image acquisition was 17 and 21 days for cases with pCT and pMRI, respectively. The prostate volume calculated by different modalities was compared. And retrospective planning with iTRUS image was performed to estimate the number of $^{125}I$ seed required to obtain recommended dose distribution according to prostate volume. Results: The mean difference in prostate volume was 9.05 mL between the pCT and iTRUS and 6.84 mL between the pMRI and iTRUS. The prostate volume was roughly overestimated by 1.36 times with pCT and by 1.33 times with pMRI. For 34 cases which received NHT after image acquisition, the prostate volume was roughly overestimated by 1.45 times with pCT and by 1.37 times with pMRI. A statistically significant difference was found between preplan image-based volume and iTRUS-based volume (p<0.001). The median number of wasted seeds is approximately 13, when the pCT or pMRI volume was accepted without modification to assess the required number of seeds for brachytherapy. Conclusion: pCT-based volume and pMRI-based volume tended to overestimate prostate volume in comparison to iTRUS-based volume. To reduce wasted seeds and cost of the brachytherapy, we should take the volume discrepancy into account when we estimate the number of $^{125}I$ seeds for permanent brachytherapy.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.595-603
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• 2017

The study is to produced a brain phantom simulating corpus striatum, which can evaluate the progression of parkinson's disease, to investigate possibility of reducing the brain exposure dose to CT while maintaining optimal image quality during PET-CT examinations. CT scans were performed by varying tube voltage (100, 120 kVp) and tube current (80, 140, 200 mAs) with $^{18}F$ FP-CIT injected into the phantom's hot sphere and background (radioactivity ratio 3:1)(reference condition; 120 kVp, 140 mAs). Estimated effective dose was calculated by using conversion factor according to each condition, and image quality was evaluated by setting SNR and CRChot image evaluation factors. Experimental results showed that the predicted effective dose below the CT imaging reference condition was reduced by at least 10% and by up to 60%, and the predicted effective dose beyond the reference condition was increased by 40%. In addition, there was no significant difference between SNR and CRChot of PET images, and it was confirmed that brain dose decreased with decrease of tube voltage and tube current. At the same time, there was no significant change in the quality of the image in terms of SNR and CRChot despite the change in scan conditions. This fact suggests that the quality of the images acquired under the existing dose conditions can be obtained even at low dose conditions and it is expected that it will be possible to use the brain PET-CT scan as a basic data for the research on reduction of dose and improvement of image quality.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 1983

To evaluate the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) in radiotherapy treatment planning in malignant tumors of thoracic cage, the computer generated dose distributions were compared between plans based on conventional studies and those based on CT scan. 22 cases of thoracic malignancies, 15 lung cancers and 7 esophageal cancers, diagnosed and treated in Department of Therapeutic Radiology of Seoul National University Hospital from September, 1982 to April, 1983, were analyzed. In lung cancers, dose distribution in plans using AP, PA parallel opposing ports with posterior spinal cord block and in plans using box technique both based on conventional studies were compared with dose distribution using AP, PA and two oblique ports based on CT scan. In esophageal cancers, dose distribution in plans based on conventional studies and those based on CT scans, both using 3 port technique were compared. The results are as follows: 1. Parallel opposing field technique were inadequate in all cases of lung cancers, as portion of primary tumor in 13 of 15 cases and portion of mediastinum in all were out of high dose volume. 2. Box technique was inadequate in 5 of 15 lung cancers as portion of primary tumor was not covered and in every case the irradiated normal lung volume was quite large. 3. Plans based on CT scan were superior to those based on conventional studies as tumor was demarcated better with CT and so complete coverage of tumor and preservation of more normal lung volume could be made. 4. In 1 case of lung cancer, tumor localization was nearly impossible with conventional studies, but after CT scan tumor was more clearly defined and localized. 5. In 1 of 7 esophageal cancers, the radiation volume should be increased for marginal coverage after CT scan. 6. Depth dose correction for tissue inhomogeneity is possible with CT, and exact tumor dose can be calculated. As a result radiotherapy treatment planning based on CT scan has a pteat advantage over that based on conventional studies.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2018

Purpose: To investigate interobserver variation in target volume delineations for prostate cancer salvage radiotherapy using planning computed tomography (CT) versus combined planning CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods: Ten radiation oncologists independently delineated a target volume on the planning CT scans of five cases with different pathological status after radical prostatectomy. Two weeks later, this was repeated with the addition of planning MRI. The volumes obtained with CT only and combined CT and MRI were compared, and the effect of the addition of planning MRI on interobserver variability was assessed. Results: There were large differences in clinical target volume (CTV) delineated by each observer, regardless of the addition of planning MRI ($9.44-139.27cm^3$ in CT only and $7.77-122.83cm^3$ in CT plus MRI) and no significant differences in the mean and standard deviation of CTV. However, there were decreases in mean volume and standard deviation as a result of using the planning MRI. Conclusion: This study showed substantial interobserver variation in target volume delineation for salvage radiotherapy. The combination of planning MRI with CT tended to decrease the target volume and the variation.